Mancini should not be painted as a shabbily-treated hero

SLOWLY but surely, a picture of the real Roberto Mancini is starting to emerge.

One in stark contrast to the one painted of him by so many dissenting
Manchester City fans as a shabbily-treated hero.

Kevin Parker, spokesman for the City Supporters’ Club, claimed Mancini’s exit
was the lowest point in his 40 years as a fan.

You would have thought that December 1998 when City lost to York and Mansfield
in the old Third Division may have plumbed considerably lower depths.

Yes, Mancini won the FA Cup and the Premier League before completing a
runners-up Double this season. But even as he was doing this there were
rumblings of unease throughout the club.

On the one hand, you have a man who restored City’s pride, dragged them out of
the Dark Ages and, most importantly, stuck it to United and Alex Ferguson.

On the other, a man who criticised his stars in public then embarrassed his
bosses for allegedly not buying the players he wanted.

A man who never blamed himself, never took responsibility for poor
performances and who oversaw the worst results ever from an English club in
the Champions League.

And then demanded the signing of every world class player available in the
summer. Strange substitutions, tinkering with tactics and an unbalanced
squad are just some of the other accusations.

In the end, he lost the dressing room as even good guys like Vincent Kompany
and James Milner fell out with him. But it wasn’t just players who tired of
his domineering presence.

Some of the thoughts of other staff were reflected in a blistering tweet from
ex-kit man Stephen Aziz.

Yes, there will always be individuals with an axe to grind but this looks more
than just that. Aziz tweeted of Mancini: “Arrogant, vain, self-centred, no
manners and ignorant, he made going into work a grind.

“Not my style to bad-mouth someone but this guy was really a piece of work.
Generally not a nice person.

“City, on the other hand, were a top club with great players and down-to-earth
staff.”

Yet, largely because of Mancini’s manner, an unhappy club. Having said all
this, the players themselves have to take some responsibility.

Having got what they wanted — Mancini’s dismissal — they owe the club a huge
debt. As Roy Keane said after the Cup final a number had become lazy and
complacent.

What says it all about City’s underperforming playing elite — even Yaya Toure
went off the boil — is Pablo Zabaleta, a full-back, emerged as player of the
season.

Soriano and Begiristain have been seen by some as Mancini’s nemesis. And yet
the trio had a pretty solid relationship.

The only difference was the executives saw the bigger picture.

Thus the release of the statement terminating the Italian’s five-year contract
included the reference to City wanting to develop a ‘holistic’ approach at
the club.

It means developing a club rather than just a team. And, as Fergie did at
United, being heavily involved from top to bottom.

During Ferguson’s 26 years at Old Trafford, Mancini was the 16th of City
bosses. Like Mancini, Fergie is far from sweetness and light.

But mixed with the hairdryer was a paternal approach and a protective arm
round the shoulder. Dirty linen was rarely aired in public.

Of all his errors, Mancini’s biggest was to project an unsympathetic image to
the world and, too often, to advertise the deep divisions within a club
desperately striving to be seen as a caring, responsible and benevolent
organisation.

A club that wanted to use Sheikh Mansour’s billions to return something to the
community rather than being seen as just another vulgar, Abramovich-style
combine harvester gobbling up everything in its path. In the end, Mancini
had to go.